Connective Tissue Exercise: Discovering a Different Way to Exercise and to be with my Body

Recently I have been doing Connective Tissue Exercise classes with Kate Greenaway; these have been an immense support to me in helping me learn a new way to exercise and to develop a relationship with my body in a loving and gentle way.

Growing up I very much disliked being forced to run and play sports at school, which felt very taxing on my little body. I would do anything to get out of doing high impact sports that did not feel right, including lifting heavy weights in the school gym. I would get teary when school sports or P.E classes would come around; I had to push myself to run as the impact would feel shocking to my body.

In my adult years the only time I would exercise was to release my anger and life’s frustrations out on a punching bag; I would exercise very harshly without any focus and connection to my body whatsoever. I would move my body in a way to self-abuse and not feel what was under all my rage and anger. Sports and intense exercise had felt abusive to me when I was younger and so I used it to abuse my body – to push myself under intense hardness and stress that made me numb to my feelings.

I had moved in such hardness, with no presence and focus, as I had decided my body was a ‘thing’ that just carried me around; I had no idea there was another way to be with my body. I had no relationship with my body and what a horrible lonely feeling that was!!

Through my private sessions with Kate Greenaway and participating in Connective Tissue exercise classes, I have been shown a way to exercise with very slight and gentle movements that feel so supportive and loving to my body. This has helped me immensely to help reconnect to my own loveliness from which I have been so disconnected since I was a young child.

The Connective Tissue exercise classes have taught me to focus on my breathing, connect to my body, to assess how I am feeling and how my body feels before my very first movement – and for each one after that. Each connective tissue exercise movement is like the most amazing oil change my body is receiving, and in such a gentle flowing way.

I now love walking in my body… enjoying the gentle flowing feeling and the movement of my arms that supports me as I walk. Recently I have discovered there is a skeleton in my body: the pelvic alternations exercise laying on my back has reconnected me to my pelvis area which feels magnificent, and is confirmed when I walk. Walking in the past I would always be ‘checked out’ and just getting from A to B, but now having this simple technique I love feeling my pelvis moving up and down; this has helped me stay connected and focussed, without the constant head chatter.

For the first time I am now enjoying being in my body: it is not such a scary place to be in after all and I will forever be deepening the connection that I am building in my body.

I have experienced that Connective Tissue exercise helps me deal with the anxiety and raciness that I have been entrenched in – just stopping and taking time to apply some of the simple connective tissue techniques helps ease this.

Slowly I am coming out of long term exhaustion that was a repercussion of how I chose to live in the past when not taking care of myself. I find that doing these exercises in the morning and evening before bed have helped my energy levels throughout the day – I am no longer running on constant nervous energy and ending up feeling exhausted which is how I previously lived. Also, being more connected with my body has made me less emotional through developing a true relationship with my body.

This has helped me feel more confident in myself in everyday activities – I don’t get as drawn into the emotional ups and downs like before. The more I develop and enjoy the connection with my body, feeling the gentleness in my movements, the less emotional I naturally become.

With 20 years in the baking/pastrycooking industry, my 2am routine was to throw my alarm clock and get out of bed 20 minutes before my shift would start. I allowed just enough time to throw my uniform on, splash my face with cold water, squeeze toothpaste into my mouth and walk with my shoes half on until I got into my car. Driving to work at 100 miles an hour, drawing back on a cigarette or two, I would walk into work without even realising how I got there as my body was still in bed!

Since being introduced to Connective Tissue, this has all changed for me and I now take all the time I need to prepare myself for the day. My morning starts with connective tissue exercises before I do anything else, connecting with my body in a lovely gentle way. It has helped me so much to set up my day with ME and to take my gentleness wherever I go. Certainly I am far from perfect, however, supported by Connective Tissue, I am learning to deepen my connection with my body more and more each day.

For the first time in my life I am beginning to feel how much exercise, and what type of exercise, is right for me – instead of following the expectations of someone else telling me what to do.

I have been deeply inspired by Kate Greenaway, her dedication to the Connective Tissue exercises, and what these exercises have to offer in teaching and reflecting back to us that there is another way to exercise. Also that it is possible to be another way with ourselves by connecting with our body with such gentle tender flowing movements – and how effective and powerful this connection can be.

581 thoughts on “Connective Tissue Exercise: Discovering a Different Way to Exercise and to be with my Body”

Comment navigation

“For the first time I am now enjoying being in my body: it is not such a scary place to be in after all and I will forever be deepening the connection that I am building in my body” – I can very much relate to this. I used to think that to enjoy being in the body was a right reserved only for those who with high physical specs either in its capabilities or appearance. The way we have objectified the body has done much damage to our connection to the body.

Thank you Kim, I used to do the Connective Tissue exercises daily and now I do so a few times a week, you’ve inspired me to do these more regularly again. For some reason I hadn’t considered the exercises as a support for a racy mind but it makes perfect sense that it would help by bringing me back into the body.

“I have been shown a way to exercise with very slight and gentle movements that feel so supportive and loving to my body. ” I agree, paying attention and staying present with these exercises allows me to truly feel where my body is at. Deep appreciation for this modality.

I wonder how much our movements reinforce or cement a certain way of life, and if the way we move actually trains our body in how it needs to be in life, so if we move super gently it learns that is how it’s meant to be, whereas if our movements are hard or disregarding then that cements a certain kind of movement.

If we are all honest the way we rush and run ourselves ragged in today’s world, we can often be far too disrespectful of our bodies and take them for granted – that is until they breakdown and become ill, for that can often be a huge wake-up call. My experience of connective tissue is that it is literally a breath of fresh air for my body, and an opportunity to re-calibrate so to speak, so I can begin again.